Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
If you're not first you're last

// The skinny: Six words: Will Ferrell as a Nascar driver.

// Review: That's actually exactly how the producers pitched this film and it's really all you need to know about this movie. The concept is really brilliant. Every frat boy and fan of Ferrell will watch this as well as every single lottery ticket, Mad Dog drinking race car fan. No wonder it opened at $47M. You get exactly what you expect from the same team that made Anchorman. Ricky Bobby catapults to the top of Nascar as a skilled but Ron Burgundy-esque driver who has consistently ridiculous things come out of his mouth.

/ Casting Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat) as Ricky Bobby's gay French arch rival seemed like a can't miss idea. I really wanted to like him but he couldn't quite pull off a horrible French accent and he didn't have many really good lines. Gary Cole (Office Space) as Ricky Bobby's dad is becoming a cult legend . He was an absolute scene stealer whenever he and Ferrell shared screen time. John C Reilly (Boogie Nights) also does a great job as Ricky Bobby's doofus best friend and side kick. At first he was a slight head scratcher for me because he's done mainly dramatic roles (Magnolia, The Aviator, Gangs of New York), but like Jeff Daniels in Dumb and Dumber, I was really surpised how funny he was.

/ The movie story played out almost exactly like a spoof of Days of Thunder, down to the trying to get the nerve to drive again after big accident plotline, to the owner who sponsors two arch rivals on the same race team. Some of the scenes are painfully long and played out, but nevertheless there are several laugh out loud jokes and gags. Interestingly enough, trailers usually have the biggest laughs of the film, but most of them were cut out of the actual movie and didn't even make the outtakes.

// Wrap up: No surprises here. Big laughs, lots of absurd dialogue. Classic Will Ferrell.

Entertainment rating: 3